Title
Influence of the anolyte feed conditions on the performance of an alkaline glycerol electroreforming reactor
Date Issued
27 July 2015
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
de Paula J.
Nascimento D.
Universidade de Brasília
Publisher(s)
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Abstract
This manuscript presents the results of an alkaline glycerol electroreforming reactor for the production of hydrogen mounted in an alkaline membrane fuel cell. Commercial PtRu/C and Pt/C were used as catalysts in the anode and cathode, respectively, with a KOH-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane. The influence of the fuel composition (a glycerol and KOH solution) and the flow rate were studied to assess the electrochemical performance, hydrogen yield, and efficiency compared to the values predicted by Faraday’s law. The best conditions for cell performance corresponded to 2 mol L<sup>−1</sup> glycerol, 4 mol L<sup>−1</sup> KOH, and a fuel flow rate of 1 mL min<sup>−1</sup>, which yielded a hydrogen production close to that dictated by Faraday’s law. Moreover, potassium glycerate and tartronate could be obtained as the main added-value products from the glycerol electrooxidation, with minor amounts of mesoxalate, oxalate, glycolate, and formate. In general, more oxidized products, especially potassium tartronate, are favored at low glycerol and high KOH concentrations. A preliminary analysis of the energy consumption indicated lower requirements compared to a KOH-doped PBI alkaline water electrolysis system, although the performance was limited by the low current densities (and concomitant hydrogen yield rate) that could be obtained. Finally, stoichiometric calculations demonstrate that the hydrogen obtained could be used for biodiesel hydrogenation to improve its properties while still maintaining a surplus of hydrogen.
Start page
689
End page
700
Volume
45
Issue
7
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química Electroquímica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84933181422
Source
Journal of Applied Electrochemistry
ISSN of the container
0021891X
Sponsor(s)
The authors thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Universal Call Project No. 474381/2013-7) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, AEX Process No. 6278-14-0) for financial support.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus